Data Protection – from mainframe to Cloud

Mainframes, open systems and virtualized, cloud computing infrastructure all have one thing in common – the need for reliable and efficient means to protect data. As IT infrastructure technology continues to evolve, businesses need a way to continue protecting legacy assets and ideally, it should be done using a common set of data protection tools.

A Data Protection Symphony

As we discussed in our recent article, “Data Protection In The Cloud Age”, the evolutionary changes that have taken place in information technology can be likened to the innovations that have occurred in the music industry over the years. For example, CDs in large part, became the music format of choice over vinyl records. Likewise, iPODS supplanted CDs as the favored mechanism for transporting one’s music collection around. And in recent years, streaming music services have become increasingly popular. But interestingly, all of these various consumer formats for listening to music continue to endure individually.

Similarly, despite being a 50 year old technology, mainframes continue to serve as the core computing infrastructure for many companies in the Fortune 500. Mainframes have survived mini-computers and the decentralization revolution of the client-server computing era. And it doesn’t appear that its place in the data center is going to change any time soon – even with the advent of cloud computing. In fact, you could say that cloud computing is merely the reincarnation of mainframe computing.

Cross-Platform Innovation

The bottom line is that audiophiles and businesses alike consume music and data, respectively, across a variety of formats. Consequently, data protection needs to be customized according to the underlying infrastructure that the data resides on. But it is critical that the data protection solutions that businesses choose, demonstrate a clear track record of ongoing innovation. And as importantly, these technologies should provide some degree of integration across the various computing platforms that businesses manage, to improve resource efficiency and to simplify operational management.

For example, in addition to cross-platform compatibility, backup infrastructure should provide multi-tenant capabilities. In this manner, businesses can start to lay the foundation for private and hybrid cloud computing infrastructure. In other words, the investments made in data protection solutions today should not only support the legacy platforms of yesterday, but also be capable of evolving to meet the computing infrastructure needs of tomorrow.

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As a 22 year IT veteran, Colm has worked in a variety of capacities ranging from technical support of critical OLTP environments to consultative sales and marketing for system integrators and manufacturers. His focus in the enterprise storage, backup and disaster recovery solutions space extends from mainframe and distributed computing environments across a wide range of industries.

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At Computer Solutions Unlimited, we work with our customers to deliver tangible, high quality and cost effective business results through the use of advanced information technology solutions. We provide your business with Cloud Computing services through the internet, even down to your workstations and mobile devices. To find out more about us, visit us at http://www.csucentral.com.